1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers for storing and transporting a pile of recyclable material such as paper, cans, bottles, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years recyclable material, such as newspapers, cans, bottles, and the like have been collected and recycled to conserve resources, and reduce the amount of material incinerated or sent to landfills. However, much recyclable material is not recycled because it cannot be collected efficiently and economically. For example, various types of containers have been provided for the accumulation of recyclable articles. However, these containers have opaque walls, which conceal the contents. Consequently, many people who discard recyclable material often mix non-recyclable contaminants, such as waste food, grass clippings, and other trash, with recyclable material. In addition, certain types of recyclable material, say aluminum cans, are often contaminated by mixing with other types of recyclable materials, such as bottles, paper, or the like. Either type of contamination is often unacceptable in the business of recycling, and discourages collection of recyclable material because it makes handling of the accumulated material inordinately time-consuming and therefore uneconomical.
Because of the above shortcomings, a large amount of recyclable material is not recovered for recycling, but instead is sent to expensive landfills, or dumped into the ocean.
This invention provides containers in which piles of relatively large amounts of recyclable articles can be compactly stored, and easily inspected by a collector of the articles to ascertain that the pile is not contaminated. If the pile is contaminated, the collector can refuse to accept it from the customer. If the pile contains only the articles wanted by the collector, the customer can be rewarded, say with a reduced collection fee, or cash payment. In either case, the customer is given an incentive to cooperate in making recycling successful. The containers of this invention also make it easy to move a collected pile of large amounts of recyclable material to a convenient location for rapid inspection and economical pickup by a recycler.
The preferred container of this invention is in the shape of an elongated upright box with a front wall, a bottom wall, two side walls, and a back wall. At least one of the walls, and preferably all of them, are substantially open or transparent to permit visual inspection of the container contents. A pair of rotatable wheels are mounted on the lower end of the container, which has a base adapted to rest on a substantially horizontal supporting surface, such as a floor.
Preferably, the container of this invention is integrally molded from plastic. Since at least one of the walls of the container is substantially open, some structural integrity is lost because of that construction. However, the preferred embodiment of this invention provides a container in which the upright corners of the container where the edges of the side walls merge with the edges of the front and back walls provide four study upright columns molded integrally at their lower ends with a floor formed in the bottom wall of the container to provide strength and rigidity. Moreover, the upper ends of the columns are molded integrally with a substantially horizontal beam formed integrally around the upper end of the container. This construction provides strength and rigidity with a minimum use of material.
Briefly, a preferred container molded integrally from plastic includes a pair of upright substantially parallel side walls. Each side wall has a bottom edge, a forward edge and a rear edge. An upright back wall, disposed substantially perpendicular to the side walls, has a bottom edge, a first side edge formed integrally with a rear edge of one side wall, and a second side edge formed integrally with the rear edge of the other side wall. A separate inwardly extending substantially horizontal web is formed integrally with each bottom edge of the side and back walls. A separate upwardly extending flange is formed integrally with the inner edge of each web. A substantially horizontal floor has a rear edge formed integrally with an upper edge of the flange on the web of the rear wall, and a pair of side edges each formed integrally with a respective upper edge with a side wall flange on a web of a side wall. A separate inwardly extending retaining lip is formed integrally at an outer edge with the forward edge of each side wall. The horizontal width of each lip is substantially less than the horizontal distance between the side walls so that the front of the container is substantially open to permit rapid visual inspection of recyclable material in the container. A pair of wheels are secured to the lower portions of the side walls to be rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis so that when the wheels rest on a horizontal support the webs of the side walls can also rest on the support so that the container can be tilted to lift the container out of contact with the support and rolled on the wheels to move the container.
For added strength and rigidity, the floor of the container preferably includes a waffle-type pattern with alternating ridges and valleys. An outwardly extending flange formed integrally with the top edges of the side and back walls provide added rigidity and strength to the upper part of the container. Preferably, a separate, forwardly extending handle bracket is formed integrally with the upper portion of each retaining lip, and, an elongated horizontal handle is integrally molded with the forward portion of each bracket to provide rigidity and strength to the upper portion of the container, and also provide a convenient way for tilting and rolling the container.
Preferably the walls of the container slope slightly upwardly and away from each other so that before the wheels are attached to the container several containers can be nested together in a compact stack for shipping. Preferably the side and back walls of the container are each formed with an inwardly disposed, centrally located respective panel to form an external and downwardly opening groove on each wall to add strength and rigidity to the container, and to facilitate nesting of one container in another.
In one form of the invention the open front of the container is covered by a transparent retainer to confine recyclable material, and permit quick and easy visual inspection of the pile of recyclable material in the container to ascertain that the pile is not contaminated with unacceptable material. Once the container is full, it is easily tilted by the typical residential dweller to be supported only by the wheels and the handle on the upper part of the container, and thereafter rolled to an appropriate location, say curbside, for pickup by a recycler. Preferably, the container of this invention includes. lifting means which make it possible for either a fully automatic or semi-automatic collection truck to lift and invert the container to dump the pile into the collection truck. The container is then returned to the curbside position for reuse.
In one form of the invention, the transparent retainer is a clear panel of glass or plastic, preferably coated with a scratch-resistant layer. Alternatively, the transparent retainer is made of netting, or is a plastic or metal grid, or anything else that permits a good view of the container contents. For example, in another embodiment, the container includes a front wall formed integrally with the two sides and bottom of the container, and which is provided with sufficient openings to permit the required inspection of the container contents for unacceptable contaminants. For maximum visibility and ease of inspecting the container contents, the back and side walls are also substantially open and provided with a grid or transparent panel (or both). The use of a grid in combination with a transparent panel (say, a sheet of plastic secured to the interior of the container wall), provides strength and visibility, and confines odor and any liquid which may be present to the container.
In another form of the invention, the container floor slopes downwardly and away from the front of the container when the container base and wheels rest on a horizontal surface. This promotes formation of a stable pile which rests securely against the back of the container. In the preferred form, the bottom of the container is at an angle between about 2xc2x0 and about 12xc2x0 from horizontal when the container base rests on a horizontal support.
In yet another form of the invention, the back wall of the container slopes upwardly and away from the front of the container at an angle between about 2xc2x0 and about 12xc2x0 from vertical when the container base rests on a substantially horizontal support. This also promotes formation of a stable pile which rests firmly against the back of the container.
In a preferred form of the invention, the container bottom slopes downwardly and away from the front of the container, and the back slopes upwardly and away from the front of the container.
To facilitate tilting the container to rest only on the wheels, a step plate is mounted on the bottom of the container front to extend away from the container in a direction transverse to the axis of the rotation of the wheels, which can be mounted either at the front or the back of the container.